The Idolmaster: Zone of Despair
by KNAM
Summary: 4 years has passed since 765 pro became famous. The office that is. The idols have reached stardom 5 years ago. And after a year has passed, an incident happened in the region the office resides in. The incident is no laughing matter, every Intelligence Agencies across the globe were involved. Many lives were lost. And no one remembers what has happened. Until one night...
1. Chapter 0

Hi everyone, KNAM here. I'm a new member here in fanfiction, so nice to meet you. I've been reading stories from this site, and I thought maybe I should give writing a try. So, yeah, this is my first story. So I'm hoping for feedbacks from everyone.

This story revolves around the Idolm ster world years after 765 pro's debut. The story will mainly take place in Chihaya's point of view.

Ok, I'm not very good at opening statements, so please read on and I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Idolmaster.

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The Idolmaster: Zone of Despair

Chapter 0

It's been five years since our first debut as idols. I hate to admit it, but it was really fun back then. We may not have many job offers and absolutely no publicity before, but we always have time for each other.

When you've become famous, it's going to be difficult to find time for yourself and your friends and family. That can be frustrating. Back then, I always trained hard to become famous. I never really cared about anything other than work. My friends always encouraged me to have some time for fun. I always thought that having fun is only a waste of time. I thought, we should put more time on training. But, my friends have proven me wrong.

All I cared back then was to sing. All the other stuff, I didn't care about them. I just wanted to sing beautifully and let the world hear me. That's why I have to train hard everyday. I thought I was doing something good. But again, I was proven wrong. I realized that I was selfish. My goal to become the best songstress in the world turned out to be my way of letting out my sadness and despair.

Because of my long lost brother, whose life was taken away by an unfortunate accident. I was there, standing, staring at him and done nothing. It was my fault, my heart filled with despair. And it keeps on coming following my parent's never ending fights and arguments. That made me despised them. I hated them. My heart keeps getting darker and darker. The only thing that keeps me going, is only the memory of my little brother. He was always happy seeing me singing. That's why I take singing seriously. But perhaps, maybe too serious.

Ah, I almost forgot. I haven't properly introduced myself. My apologies, my name is Chihaya Kisaragi. I'm...no, I was an idol of 765 Pro. If someone were to describe me, I'm a cool and stoic young woman. Since I take my work seriously, I don't have enough time for other stuff, not even socializing. That's why everyone thinks I'm a cold person. And they're right actually.

It's all my parent's fault. I've lost faith in them. And if you lost faith in your own family, who else will you give your faith to?

Lucky for me, I met a girl who became my first and closest friend. And as time pass, my friend count keeps on increasing. I've been wondering, why would they want me as their friend? My friends said that I have a cute face and a beautiful figure. But to me, their...you know...is bigger than mine so I think they have a more attractive figure than mine...kgh.

But thankfully, that's not the only reason. They understand a bit about myself. They said that they don't believe I'm a cold heartless person. They believe that I'm actually a warm caring person. They believe that something happened in the past that changed me. They understand me, they won't give up on me. And all of that made me realize, I do have someone I can have faith in. And it made me realize, there is still hope for me to live on in this world.

Well enough about me, now let's talk about the present.

I'm currently employed as an idol of 346 pro along with some of my friends. 3 years ago during our time as idols of 765 pro, we were famous throughout Japan. Nobody doesn't know about us. That's because we have various talent and characters on our team. So no matter what the job is, we always have someone that can finish the job very well. As you know, my specialty is singing. It was a glorious year. Until it happened.

A year later, there was an incident involving various intelligence agencies across the globe. And it all happened right in the region our office reside in. Not to mention our office was used by the opposing force for their base of operations. At least, that's what I've heard.

We were ordered to evacuate the region ASAP, unfortunately not all of us succeed in getting away to safety. 10 of my friends were unaccounted for, one of them was saved 1 year later. And one more was saved 6 months ago. Both of them were in a coma, but they were both released 2 weeks ago. It sounds weird that they woke up at the same time, but I'm just glad they're ok. But, I can't stop thinking about the others. I wish I've done something back then. I could've saved them, but the police officers won't let me in. The authorities never said a thing about what actually happened, so...yeah, I never got enough sleep all this years.

And even now, I'm still wide awake. Thinking about them everyday. This group photo we had, it's all I have to remember them. The authorities confiscated everything related to 765 pro 2 weeks ago. I don't know why and they won't tell me. I kept this photo hidden from them. I didn't want them to take everything related to my friends, I want to keep at least one item to remember them.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Kisaragi-san? Are you still awake?"

Speaking of wide awake, someone isn't asleep at this time. I approach the door and opened it.

"Takatsuki-san? Why are you here?"

"Geez, Kisaragi-san. I told you many times, please call me Kasumi. There's no need for formalities"

"Hm, is that so? I can't remember. Fufufu~"

"Kisaragi-saaan, pleaaase. I'm embarassed if you keep...onee-chan..."

Ah! I shouldn't let her see this. But, it was too late. She saw the picture of me and my team. One of them is Yayoi Takatsuki. The one that I'm talking to right now is Kasumi Takatsuki, her little sister.

Yayoi Takatsuki, a member of 765 pro. She's a very cheerful young girl. Even though she's among the youngest member, she is one of the most responsible member of our team. This is because she has a lot of younger siblings and she has to take care of them everyday since her parents have some issues with work. She joined 765 pro to earn extra income for her family. When we heard this, we all cried and had a group hug. She also has a high charisma value, if you know what I mean.

Kasumi Takatsuki is Yayoi's younger sister. Unlike her, Kasumi is a calm pure hearted girl. She doesn't have that strong cheerful aura like her sister, but I know she will do her best to follow her sister's footsteps. She's currently the idol of 346 pro.

"Takatsuki..."

"Hmph!"

"Kasumi...chan...should'nt you go to bed?"

"...sis...I missed her"

"I missed her too. Your sister and I were close. She always lift everyone's spirit. She's the most energetic out of all of us"

"Kinda like Haruka-san"

"Yes...but without the clumsy part"

"Hehe, yeah...Kisaragi-san?"

"Hm?"

"Can I sleep with you for tonight?"

"...Sure"

"...thanks..."

I let Kasumi in and closed the door. I put down the photo on my desk, and bring Kasumi on to my bed. My bedroom is a lot better than what I had 5 years ago. Since our office, 765 Pro merged with 346 Pro, we received our own room in a 5 star apartment. Kasumi joined us a year ago... Probably because she hoped that she can see her sister again. She lost contact with her during the incident. And not just her sister, I...We lost contact with everyone. Everyone except Mami and Haruka. I gave my statement to the authority, but there's not much I can give. Mami and Haruka might know something. But both of them are in a state of shock, they can't remember a thing. And they don't want to pursue their lost memories. But, they still want to help in anyway they can. And so do I. Kasumi-chan, rest assured, I...we, will bring your sister and everyone back together. So until then, please be strong.

*BEEP BEEP*

Ng? My phone? Who could it be? I turned around and grab my phone. It's a message...from Mio? Mio Honda, she's an idol from 346 pro. She is a big fan of Miki and Ritsuko. When she heard about what happened, she insist she wants to help no matter what. Her producer did try to restrain her, but she got out anyway. She wasn't afraid of what she might get herself into. Now, what does she want with me?

"TOMORROW, 10 AM, ABANDONED OFFICE, BRING YURIKO-CHAN AND MAMMOTH"

...

"Sorry, I meant Mami-Chan. Wasn't my fault, it's the Auto-complete's fault"

...The abandoned office. It must be our old office. Did she find something?

Hey, KNAM again. Thanks for reading my story. Did you like it? Did I over-explain something? Are there too many grammar errors? Is the story bland or weird?

Feel free to post your thoughts about the story. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 1

Hey everyone, KNAM here. Thanks to everyone who read my story. And thank you for the reviews. I've been thinking, on the next chapters there will be a lot of characters involved so I might add a Narrator for certain chapters. Anyway, here's Chapter 1 of The Idolmaster:Zone of Despair. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Idolmaster

*Update, added indications for easier reading experience. Sorry for the slow update, got caught up with something. Hopefully I can publish the new chapter in the near future. Thank you for taking the time to read this and my story.

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The Idolmaster: Zone of Despair

Chapter 1

It's almost 10.00 AM. I met up with Mami in the apartment and explained to her about the message I got from Mio. We also contacted Yuriko and she said she'll be waiting outside on the park. Yuriko Nanao is also a member of 765 pro, but she's relatively a new member. She really likes reading books and I heard she likes playing games as well. And like me, she's really shy around strangers. But once you get to know her, she's one of the most energetic and cheerful member of our team.

When we reached the park, we saw Yuriko and Mio together. Weird, I thought Mio would already be at the meeting spot.

"Sorry sorry~. I took a nap here on the bench, and I slept for 2 hours, ehehe~" Mio smiled at us.

I can't really blame her, this park is amazing in the morning. We're at currently the center of the park, and the air here feels refreshing. There are lots of different kinds of trees and flowers here. So this place is really the best spot for relaxing, having a picnic, or in Mio's case, take a nap.

"Allright! Should we get going?" Mio said cheerfully.

"Let me get some coffee first" Mami said while yawning.

"I want a hot chocolate!" Said Yuriko while holding her hand up.

"I'll just have a Vanilla Latte"

"Then go buy some!" Mami shouts at us.

"Aww~, I thought Mami-chan is going to treat us" Yuriko seems disappointed.

So we all decided to go to the cafe first. After a drink, we all got up and started our journey to the Abandoned Office. It's not too far, so we decided to walk there. Mio and Yuriko looks really excited, so they sprint ahead. Though I think Yuriko was reluctant.

"Huff huff huff..."

"Hurry hurry hurry!" Mio shouts cheerfully.

"Huff, huff. Please, slow down Mio-chan. Huff huff..." Says Yuriko while gasping for air. She really needs to train her stamina more.

"The sooner we get there, the better!"

"But I'm not good with runniiiiing!"

"Those two...they're having fun huh, Chihaya-san?" Mami asked me.

"Mm, guess so. Though Yuriko is less enthusiastic than before"

"They should really watch where they're going. Kids this days…"

"...You do realize you were like that years ago. Ritsuko-san had a rough time containing you two"

"...Fair enough..."

Mami have grown so much now. I'm a bit surprised actually. Well, I know she was at least a bit more mature than Ami, but to think she's grown to be a more mature and serious young woman. I can't help but wonder, does the incident effected Mami in anyway?

"Allright! We're here!" Mio shouts while holding both of her hands up.

We all went silent... The building looks awful. Ever since that incident, no one dares to come even close to this building. The building is a 5 floor office building. There's a lot of bloodstain on the wall, and I don't want to think how almost every inch of the building are covered with blood. There's a lot of holes on the wall, probably caused by gunshots. All the windows located on the fourth and fifth floor are shattered, and the doors were broken down but sealed partially with blocks of wood forming a barricade. I see the police line is still wrapped around the building's first floor. Overall, this building gives off a tremendous amount of fear to those who dared walk in front of it. And let me tell you, no one dared to walk here. I see a lot of people looking at us, looking afraid.

"Woops! I forgot we're famous. But it feels real good that many people recognized us"

Mio waves her hand to everyone. I'm pretty sure that's not the real reason they looked at us Mio.

"Well? Let's go in"

"WAIT!"

Yuriko suddenly grab Mio's hand. I feel her, this building looks really scary. It's obvious she's afraid to just walk in.

"Let me take a picture first"

*SNAP*

"Photography? I thought you were only interested in reading books?" Mio asked.

"Mhm~. This adventure we're going to have might be a great stuff to write on my next book. Just think, 4 girls entering a haunted building, there they discovered a mysterious light. One of them touched the light, suddenly the building collapsed! Oh no, what happened? The building transformed..."

"Umm, earth to Yuriko-chan"

"Oops! I'm sorry, I did it again"

"Heh, you've always loved fantasizing stuff. Come on Kisaragi-san, let's take a picture with me" Mio smiled at me while grabbing my arm.

She looks really happy right now that it makes me hard to refuse her. Haven't this two been paying attention? We're in front of a scary building, not to mention the center of the incident 5 years ago. Don't they feel even a little bit scary?

"Right right! Come on, let's all take a picture together~!" Yuriko smiles at me and Mami.

Sigh, can't really say no at this rate. Mami seems reluctant, but in the end she can't refuse them.

"Allright, just one shot" Mami says reluctantly.

"Yes, ma'am!" Both Yuriko and Mio say at the same time while giving Mami a salute.

"Wait, who's going to hold the camera?" I asked.

"Let's ask someone. Heeeey! Can someone take a picture of us?" Mio shouts at random passerby.

...

Seems like nobody dared to come near us

"Huh? Are they shy? Oh well, let's take turns. I'll take the first picture, then Yuriko-chan will take the second"

"Sounds good, let's do it" Yuriko agrees.

"Allright! Everybody smile~"

Smile? Really? In front of this building?

*SNAP*

"My turn my turn!" Mio hurriedly gives the camera to Yuriko.

"Ok, smile~"

"ACHOO!"

*SNAP*

"Yay, now let's go in!" Yuriko smiles at us.

"DELETE THAT ONE NOW!"

"No can do Mami-chan~, it's your fault you can't hold your sneeze"

"GIVE ME THAT! I LOOK RIDICULOUS!"

"No way~. This is so going to my scrapbook"

"Print one for me too Yuriko-chan" Mio joins in and takes the camera from Yuriko, preventing Mami from acquiring it.

"Urk"

Huh? Mami stopped chasing them

"Calm down Mami~, you're not a kid anymore. Just let it go~"

Wow, she actually calmed herself down. Back then, Ritsuko-san is the only one that can calm them down. With force of course.

"Sorry Mami-chan, but it was just too good. So please, let us keep it" Yuriko explains.

"At least let me see it first" Mami glares at Mio who was holding the camera.

"….Ok, here" Mio reluctantly gives Mami the camera.

*CLICK*

"NOOOOOO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Yuriko and Mio shouted.

"Here's your camera back~" Mami says with a sinister smile, kinda reminds me of Ritsuko-san's smile.

"Huuu…."

That's harsh, Yuriko and Mio stares at the camera. They look really down now. Anyway, while does three were fighting, I managed to remove the last block of wood blocking the door.

"Ng? Hey, wasn't there something blocking the door?" Asked Mami.

"Yeah, I removed it. Now let's go, and please no more noises!"

"….yes ma'am" All three of them says to me with a timid voice. Wonder if they finally realize how dreadful this building is.

*CREAK*

We stepped in, we looked around, and it looks awful. There's a lot of books and newspapers scattered on the floor. The walls are filled with dusts, but surprisingly no bloodstains. At the center of the floor, there is an elevator and stairs leading to the upper floor. The elevator stopped working 7 years ago, but someone fixed it 4 years ago. I'll tell who it is later. Right now, the elevator is a mess. The door is open, but the elevator's position isn't straight. The lamps are hanging from the roof of the elevator, bloodstained palm print fills the walls, and I can see a message on it. It's written, CHANGE. Just seeing this place gives me the creeps.

"Ok, we're here. Now, what did you want to show us?" Mami asked Mio.

"Patience Mami-chan. After all, this is about you"

What? It's about Mami?

"It's...about me?" Asked Mami.

"Yup, follow me to the main office"

We decided to listen to Mio for now, so we all head towards the main office located on the fourth floor. While going there, we also checked out some places on the second and third floor. We look for clues regarding the incident. We discovered 4 locked doors, 2 on the second floor and 2 on the third floor. They're all locked and blocked by a barricade. I don't remember these rooms were used by us 5 years ago so I have no idea what it holds. Once we're done searching for clues, which we didn't find any, we finally arrived on the fourth floor. Mio opens the door to the office and we went inside.

"Ugh, this is a lot nastier than I thought" I said while looking around.

The moment we entered the room, the smell of corpse envelope us. Which is weird, I don't see any corpses around. I feel like I can't breathe. This used to be the office I worked in. So many dreams and memories were made here. This was the place that started our career towards stardom. Seeing this place right now, makes me want to cry. The layout haven't changed a bit. The kitchen on the right side and the President's office on the left side. The floor was supposed to be brown colored, but with all this bloodstain, it's colored crimson red now. On the front, I see a lot of broken furniture stacking one another, sofas, chairs, tables, they're all forming a mountain. Along the path, I see books and papers shredded to pieces also a police line that looks like it was slashed. I think the police line was used to block this room, but seems like it was torn down. We delved in deeper and noticed the President's room is actually opened.

"..."

"What is it, Yuriko?"

"Is it just me, or is the president's room looks cleaner than the others"

She's right, there is a pile of books and files, but it was stacked neatly. And unlike in the pathway outside the president's room, there's actually a lot of space to move in.

"Huh? Oh, right. I went there yesterday last night" Mio explained.

"AT NIGHT!?" I shout at her.

"BY YOURSELF!?" Mami also shouts at her.

"Yeah… I get why Kisaragi-san yelled at me, but Mami-chan...didn't you do this often?"

"Well yeah, but that was when I was younger! It's dangerous to go out at night alone!"

"Your age with Mio-chan isn't that far..." Yuriko mumbles.

"Yeah! And I was not alone. I brought Ran-ran with me"

"Ranko-chan? Isn't she..." Said Yuriko while scratching her head.

"Not good with this stuff? Yeah, I kinda forgot about that. She fainted the moment we were outside near the building. Poor girl."

"...and?" I asked.

"?"

"HOW IS SHE!?" Both me and Mami shout at her.

"Oh, right. I called Shimamu to come over to pick her up...but, she also fainted. So I called Anya. And she agreed to bring them back to the office. So, no problem at all"

"So in the end, you went here alone?" Mami confirming Mio's statement.

"...Yeah, I guess"

All of us sighed at her. Really, to go that far just to get clues about the incident, either she does this because she really wants to help us or she absolutely have nothing else better to do. Anyway...

"So, Mio, what is it that you wanted to show us?"

"Ah, right. I went through some stuff on the President's office, there was a file called Mystery, Twins, and Tomboy"

"!?" Mami seems surprised, I wonder what's wrong.

"I figured it's about Takane-san, Ami-chan and Mami-chan, and Makoto-san's profile. So I skipped that, then I went to the Guest Room and guess what I found?"

"What?" The three of us ask Mio.

"Come on, I'll show you"

"Sure, lead the way. Mami, are you coming?" I asked her because Mami wasn't following us

"Yeah, I want to check something. You go on ahead"

"...Sure. By the way Mio, did you clean the president's room in the process?" I asked Mio.

"Of course not. It was clean when I got there"

That's weird. This building was abandoned years ago. How come it's so tidy? We have to re-examine that room after this.

While Chihaya and Yuriko follows Mio, Mami separated from them and went towards the President's office.

Ok, so Chihaya-san and Yuriko are following Mio. That means I'm alone now. I went towards the president's office. Mio found a file called "Twins"? It can't be that file. But I have to check it, just in case.

I entered the President's Office, and looked for the file. Not, on the desk. Not, in the drawer. And not in the shelf. Where is it? I've looked everywhere.

*CLICK*

Ng? Someone just closed the door. I turned around to see the door, then I see someone. Someone I never expected to be here.

"Looking for this?"

"Y..You!? When did you!?"

*WHOOSH*

"AGH! GAS!?"

"Sleep well~. Kuhuhu~"

Shoot, I'm getting sleepy. Chihaya-san...Mio...Yuriko...somebody….please…..help…..me….

"Now, let's take you back to our place"

Meanwhile, in the guest room near the window, Mio is currently explaining her theory about the condition of the room.

"And so, from this scene, I deduced that someone recently used this room for a meeting place"

"..."

Both Yuriko and I are silent. Not because we're amazed about Mio's deduction skill, we're amazed because of her luck.

"What? You're impressed by my detective work?"

"We're amazed you're still alive" Both me and Yuriko say to her.

"Have you ever thought that, whoever was in here won't hesitate to take you down if they saw you?" I asked her.

"Hahaha, they wouldn't...would they?" Asked Mio timidly.

"I don't know~, there are guns, ammos, and I don't know what these white stuff is. But yeah, you could've...you know..." I explained to her.

"...KYAAAAA! I NENENEVER TTTTHOUGHT ABBOUT THAT!" Mio screams as she hold both of her cheeks with her hands.

Yuriko and I sighed at her, though we're glad she's okay.

"So? What does this have to do with Mami?" I asked her.

"..."

"Umm, Mio-chan?"

"...Ah, right. Almost forgot. See this shoe?"

"...what shoe?"

"This shoe, the one that...hey, where's the shoe? It was here last...night..."

..., again, silent fills this room.

"Hey,hey. Is someone going to kill us? Someone's going to kill us, huh? We're dead. We're so dead" Yuriko squirms.

"Ok, look! There was a pair of shoe here, and it looks like it was Ami-chan's. How? I remember seeing it on her picture during you're first big live. She wore it when she rushed in to the building with Ryuugu Komachi. So we're safe okay. Ami wouldn't kill us…..right?" Mio says, while her feet are trembling.

"Of course not, why would she? But are you positive the shoes belonged to Ami?" I asedk her.

"Yeah! Look, I can describe them. So, let's talk to Mami-chan to prove that I'm right"

We agreed with her and decided to go look for Mami. To be honest, I hope this isn't Ami's shoe. I hate to think what kind of nightmare she got herself into if it really was her shoe. On the other hand, I don't want this shoe to be a murderer's shoe. Anyway, Mami should still be in the corridor. We went there, but no one was there. We decided to split up and to look for Mami, Yuriko decides to check the kitchen, Mio checks the President's office, and I decided to check outside.

"Hmm, she's not outside..."

"Mami-chaaan~, where are youuuu~" I can hear Yuriko's voice. The way she says that reminds me of a certain cartoon of a group of teenage detective with their dog.

*CREAK*

"Huh? What's this doing here?" I hear Yuriko ask herself. I think I hear bottles jingling, I think she was opening the refrigerator.

"Mami-chaaan. Ng? Wasn't this door opened?" I hear Mio. She's right, the door should've been open. I decide to go in.

*CLICK* *CREAK*

"Heeey~, Mami...mi...mi...mi..."

"Hey, did you find Mami...mi...mi...mi..."

"What are you two...oh, no..."

This is bad, I braced myself and covered my ears.

*SQUEAK SQUEAK*

"MMMMIIIIIIIIICCCEEEEEE, THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!" Both of them screams in fear.

Good grief, there's only about three mice in there. And they're not that big. But even so, they're scream is out of this world. It might even shake this building. Even the mice were startled by them. I want to laugh at them, but now is not the time. I grabbed both of them and pulled them outside.

*SLAM*

"There, just close the door and they won't get to you"

"Huff, huff, right...right..." Both of them are gasping.

"How…..how come there are mice there? We didn't see them before…." Yuriko asked.

Wow, these two are really scared of mice. Wait, I didn't see Mami in there.

"Mami wasn't in there. So, where is she?"

"Hey! What's going on!?"

"KYAAAAAA!" Both of them shouts, again.

"WAAAAAAA!" Mami also shouts.

"WILL YOU THREE BE QUIET!"

Geez, they're screaming so loud I think the building might fall apart in any second now. Though the look on their face are priceless, they looked like they've seen a ghost.

"Geez, don't scare me like that. What happened?" Asked Mami.

"They saw something scary in the office~"

"He? What is it?"

"Nevermind that! Mami-chan, we have a question for you" Mio interrupted.

"Hold on, let me catch my breath first. Huuf~, ok shoot"

"Is it true that your's are bigger tha"

*SMACK*

"That was not the question~" I smiled at Mio.

"Sowwy, umm, I think I saw Ami-chan's shoe in there"

"My...I mean, Ami-chan's shoe?"

"Yeah, see. It looks like..."

Mio describes the shoe that she found.

"Huh? Yeah, that's M...Ami-chan's shoe alright"

"See? I told you this has something to do with you. I wonder what else is hidden here in this building" Mio says with a proud look on her face.

"I don't know, but it's getting late Mio. I have a training session this afternoon. So, let's continue this some other time ok" I said to her.

"….AH! RIGHT! Almost forgot about that. I have a training session as well this afternoon" Mio says to me.

"We all have one, so let's go back. But first, I need to ask something. Can I borrow some of the books here? They're all really clean" Yuriko asked.

"Which one?" I asked her.

"Hold on…"

Yuriko went to the kitchen and brought back a sack full of books.

"Whoa, where did you find these?" Mio looks surprised, and so do I.

"In the refrigerator, weird place to store these"

"!?" Mami looks surprised as well.

"When did you find them?" Mio asked.

"Umm, just now? We went looking for Mami-chan remember?"

"Right, and you thought she was inside the refrigerator?" I asked her.

"Noo, there's a book sticking out of the refrigerator. I got curious, so I opened it. And there it is, a sack full of books. And they're all clean, I can't believe it"

"Wow, so finders keepers then?" Mio smiles.

"Exactly! But I just want to confirm it with you guys. I don't want to be labelled a thief"

"Well, no one is around so I guess it's fine" I said to her.

"YOU CAN'T!"

We all froze hearing Mami suddenly shout.

"Wh..why?" Yuriko asked.

"Because...because...it's...for evidence. Yeah, for evidence. You're going to jail if you tampered with the crime scene"

"This isn't a crime scene"

"How would you know that!?"

"Umm, there's no dead body? And I've read many mystery novels to determine whether this is a crime scene or not"

"And besides, they finished investigating this building years ago. I doubt they're going back here after many years have past" Mio says.

"Ugh...fine, just don't damage it. And DON'T LOSE IT!"

"Okay, geez. You know me, I treasure every book I came across upon"

"Good, now let's leave"

"Hey, why don't we check…" Before Mio finishes her sentence, Mami cuts in.

"I SAID NOW!"

"Eep, fine fine"

We all decided to end the day and went out the office. Mami looks really tense, I've never seen her like this before.

"Mami, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Don't worry Chihaya-san. Sorry if I'm being loud"

"It's ok, you've been through a lot. I can understand"

"Hehe, thanks"

I've been wondering, Mami looks like she doesn't want us to take the books. For all we know, there might be some clues on the books that's connected to the incident. So why does she try so hard to prevent us from getting it? Does she know something?

"Chihaya-san? Are you ok?" Mami asked.

"She must be tense about tomorrow" Said Yuriko

"Tomorrow?" Mami asked.

"Yeah, you know, your first live after all those years. You, Haruka-san and Chihaya-san will be performing with us on our Big Comeback Concert. I tell you, it's going to be a blast!" Yuriko explains cheerfully.

"Yosh, I can't wait for tomorrow! Let's race! Come one, last one in have to treat us on the usual Cafe!" Mio shouts at us while running ahead.

"Hey no fair! You got a headstart!" Mami shouts at her.

"Hey guuuys! I'm carrying books here, I'll obviously lose!" Yuriko squirms.

"Here, let me help you"

"Ah, Kisaragi-san, you don't have to"

"Its fine, here, let me carry that"

"Thanks. Can't wait to read them back home"

"Fufu, you really enjoy reading, huh?"

"Yep!"

So ends our investigation. It's 2 PM now. So much time was used, but so little result was found. Guess it's not that easy to find clues about the incident. And the way Mami was acting, I have to keep a close eye on her. She might remember something.

"Ng? VoD-573? What is this?" Yuriko asked.

"VoD? I think I heard that name before...AH! Haruka! Haruka mentioned something about that"

"What's it about?"

"I don't know yet. Sorry Yuriko, but can I borrow this?"

"Sure"

"Thanks, and Yuriko?"

"Yes?"

"Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"..."

* * *

We're getting close to see what the incident is all about. So, how was it? Did you guys enjoyed it so far? Please, tell me what you think and what needs to be improved. Thanks, I'll be waiting for the reviews.


	3. Chapter 2

Hey everyone, KNAM here. Here's the next chapter of my story about The Idolmaster. In this chapter, part of the incident will be explained and hopefully I explained it correctly. Anyway, read on and hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Idolmaster.

* * *

The Idolmaster: Zone of Despair

Chapter 2

Fuh, I'm exhausted after that investigation. But I don't have time to rest. After we split up on the park, I quickly went back to my room to read the file I borrowed from Yuriko.

VoD-573. What is this file? How is it connected to the incident? And what does Haruka know that we don't?

I took a deep breath. I looked at the file, the color black and a big stamp saying CLASSIFIED means this file is something an Intelligence Agency would have. If so, that raises a new question, why was it left on our old office? And I heard that reading this type of files may endanger our lives. Or worse, the lives of other people around us. So I have to make sure no one knows I'm reading this file. I turned off my phone, checked my entire room for any suspicious devices that might be installed and finally closed the curtains and locked the door. I might look like I'm paranoid, but I can't take any chances. I finished looking around my room, then I went back to my desk.

"Ok, this is it. It's now or never"

I took one more deep breath, then I opened the file.

And what I saw, is something I never expected to appear.

"It's...A photo of Haruka?"

In the first page of the file, I see a photo of my best friend Haruka. She's smiling in the photo, and only her head and shoulder are seen.

"Hmm, this photo was used for our profile book. It's been a long time since I saw this photo"

I put the photo aside and continue reading the file. And I found something odd.

"Name: Amami Haruki?"

Did they made a typo? It's a silly mistake if they did. Nevertheless, I continued reading.

After I read the whole page, I concluded that this is indeed Haruka's profile. But why was it classified? While thinking about that, I continued to the next page. And it looks bad.

"Oh great, one page full of text. This will take a while, though there are a lot of censored sentences here. As expected of a classified file"

I took a sip of coffee that I bought from the cafe. Yes, I lost the bet so I treated Mio, Mami and Yuriko to a drink. After another sip, I begin reading.

## March ####

File Type: Witness Statement

Region: Japan

Sub-Region: #####

Key Points: ####, 765 ####, ####

Key Word: ####, #### Gas, ####, W169

At ##:##, #### was seen entering a building with the logo 765. They are armed and considered dangerous. #### suggest that we wait for ####. There were only five of us, so we had to do with what we have. First, we follow our protocol, we formed a perimeter and took aim at the building. We set up our equipment to watch their movements. My men located #### on the fourth floor. We cannot get a shot in, so we decided to use force. We were about to break down the door, but then shots were fired on the top floor at ##:##. No casualties were reported. We kept monitoring the building using our ####, all humans are accounted for and even after the shot, not one single person disappeared from the screen. At ##:##, #### has arrived. #### began contacting the building to start the negotiation process.

After reading this, I'm beginning to remember something. My head suddenly feels dizzy. I hold my head, closed my eyes and I started seeing memories flashing one after another. First, I see Haruka coming inside the building from the window. She uses some kind of grappling gun like spies use to enter a building. She broke inside, landing between me and Miki and points a gun at someone. Then I see a man with a skull head mask grabbing Yukiho while pointing a gun at her head and took her outside the office. The man was shouting in words I can't understand. I see everyone was laying on the ground, and Haruka pursues the Man. Then I heard a gunshot. And, I see….two Haruka?

"Wait, something's not right. Two Haruka? Twins? It can't be, Haruka told me she's an only child. Is my head playing tricks on me?"

I kept pondering, trying to remember. What I saw was one Haruka was standing and pointing a gun at something, the other Haruka was laying down near the door. Did I remember right? Or was it really just an illusion? I took another sip of my coffee, then I decided to continue reading and hopefully remember something else about the incident. I went halfway through the page. Then, I see it.

At ##:##, #### suddenly arrived at the scene and ordered a full evacuation. I don't know what his game is, but this territory is in our jurisdiction. I asked them what this is all about. They came a long way from #### to here, so I expect a very good explanation. #### asked me for a situation report first, so I gave them. As we talked, an explosion was heard not far from our current position. I thought that this may be a terrorist attack, and maybe that's why #### was here. I ordered my men to evacuate all citizens. The evacuation could've gone a lot smoother, but with that explosion, it turned into a complete chaos. Hundreds of people crashing into one another, children lost their parents, and many civilians got injured. We tried our best to contain the situation, but we're low on manpower. As time went by, I smelled something. In mere seconds, I collapsed. After that, I don't remember a thing of what happened after I was knocked out. That explosion must've produced some sort of sleeping gas and that gas knocks me and the rest of the team and the citizens out. And it also seemed like the gas erased our memories. I was the few survivors who remembered some parts of this incident. All of the survivors were gathered at ####. The officers showed us pictures related to the incident. Slowly but surely we remembered the incident. But each of these memories are only filled with confusion and despair. I don't know why, but I remember that I killed a member of my team sadistically with a cleaver. Then I remember about shooting civilians with a weird weapon I've never used or seen before. And the worst part, my father who is the #### of ####, was shot by me with the same weird weapon. All this, they don't make any sense. I'm afraid to ask what the others remembered. It could or couldn't be worse than mine. Because of all this memories we remembered, and all of them filled us with despair, we decided to call this incident the Visions of Despair.

"Visions of Despair? That must be what VoD stands for. The writer said there are other survivors. I wonder if one of them is my friend. I need to keep reading this"

Just as I was about to read, my heart suddenly beats faster. I'm getting cold sweat and I'm shivering. I don't know why, but I feel someone dangerous is coming. And I feel if that someone finds me reading this, I'll be dead. I quickly reorganized the room and hid the file. Then, someone knocked the door.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Chi-ha-ya-chan. Are you there~"

That voice. I went to the door and opened it. It turns out it was Haruka. Why would I feel afraid of Haruka? Ugh, maybe I'm just feeling tired.

"Haruka, what is it?"

"What is it~ Do you know what time it is~"

I checked the time and it was 5 PM….

Wait, 5 PM!?

"OH NO!"

"Ah, you remembered. What were you doing? It's not like you to skip training session"

"I'm sorry, I was exhausted because of our little investigation"

"Ah, I heard from Mami-chan. She doesn't look that tired though"

"Trust me, it's more mentally tired than physically tired"

"Ahaha, yeah sorry. Mio-chan?"

"And Yuriko. But yeah, it was mostly because of Mio"

I told her what we found out during our investigation.

"I see, didn't find much huh?" Haruka asked me.

"...Sadly no..."

I don't know why, but I feel like I shouldn't tell Haruka about the file yet.

"...You're not lying, are you?"

Kgh, as expected of Haruka. She knows me all too well. This is bad, I don't think I can hide the file from her. Should I tell her? What should I do, what should I do?

"...It's...Complicated. But, in our old office, there's a message saying CHANGE written in blood" I answered her as calmly as possible.

"Change? Isn't that one of our song?"

"I know. It keeps me wondering, what does it mean? How much are we involved in the incident?"

"Hmmm, why don't we check the lyrics of Change later? It may or may not shed some light on your question. It's been a long time since we sang that song so I don't remember it"

"Yeah, so do I. Anyway, should we get going?"

"Sure, let's go"

"OK, but I need to change first. So please wait…"

"Can I wait inside?" Haruka cut me before I can finish my sentence.

"Umm, Sure. Come on in"

"Pardon the intrusion~"

Uwaaaa, she's inside! I can't say no to her. That might raise suspicion. I can only pray that she doesn't discover the file.

"Hey, what's this?"

KYAAAA, ALREADY!?

"Aww, it's my old photo. Did you keep this?"

"Umm, yeah. I did"

"...Chihaya-chan..."

"Y...Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

"Wha...WHAAAAT!? WHAT'S ARE YOU SAYING OUT OF BLUE!?"

"It's just that, this photo is very old. But the condition is very good, as if you took good care of it"

"WHAT!? NO, I DON'T LOVE YOU!"

"Oh, I see"

Haruka looks really disappointed hearing me say that.

"Wait, it's not like that. I love you. But I don't love love you"

"Oh, so I'm not good enough for you?" Haruka replied to me with a sad voice.

"No! I mean, you're special to me. But, not in the way like..."

"Like what?"

"Like, ummm. Ok look, you like guys and I like guys. So our relati…"

"Ah, so Chihaya-chan do like guys after all" She said cheerfully.

"Eh? EEEEHHH!?"

"I knew it. All this time you told me you were not interested in this kind of stuff, but clearly you do~"

"HARUKAAAA!"

I don't know what I was thinking! Haruka you meanie! Tricking me like that! I grabbed the pillow on my bed and threw it at her. The pillow hits her right in her face.

"OOMPH!"

"JUST STAY QUIET, PLEASE! GEEEEZ~!"

"Ehehe, Chihaya-chan your a-do-ra-ble~" She said to me with a sweet but irritating voice.

"GEEEZ! HARUKAAAA!"

"Ok, ok. I'll be waiting outside, be quick ok"

Finally, she went out. Geez this is embarrassing. She's so going to tease me over the next few days….

But, I'm glad she doesn't find out about the file. Haruka, when the time comes I will tell you. But right now, I need to know more.

…..

*CREAK*

"All set?" Haruka asked me as I got out of my room.

"Yeah, sorry about before"

"It's ok. It's partly my fault anyway. Now come on, Mami and the others are waiting"

"Right"

The training was supposed to start at 4.30 PM, so I'm 30 minutes late. I'm so embarrassed right now. I've never been late in every training sessions before. We sprint out of the apartment, passed the park, and entered the theater.

"Which room did we get?" I asked Haruka.

"Room 207, let's take the elevator. I'm exhausted from all that running"

"Ok. You should work out more Haruka. Listen, why don't we start jogging every morning like we did years ago?"

"No thanks, I'm good" She said to me while waving her hand.

We took the elevator to the second floor. We got out and went to room 207. The room is a simple training studio like what we used years ago. Inside, there's a big mirror covering one side of the wall and on the other side there's an electric piano. There's a big locker at the end of the room for us to use.

I reached out to the door, and opened it.

"You're late!"

When we entered, Mio shouted at me.

"I'm sorry, I was exhausted" I answered her.

*SMACK*

"It was your fault to begin with" Rin said in a high tone.

Mio was slapped in the head by Rin. We all laughed at her.

This training session was supposed to be for 15 members, but there's only 5 of us here. There's Rin Shibuya, Mio Honda, Uzuki Shimamura, Haruka, and myself.

"Hey, where are the others?" I asked them.

"Oh, right. Mami went to the toilet. As for the others, Trainer-san decided to split the group into two" Rin answered me.

"Why is that?"

When I asked that question, our trainer shows up from behind.

"That's because someone haven't been memorizing the new song for the concert!"

She looked at Mio and Haruka, and myself!?

"Wait, I already memorized the song!" I said to her.

"Yes, so do I!"

"Hoo, is that so? Then, Kisaragi-san and Amami-san, please step forward and show me. I will accompany you"

She took a sit near the piano and started playing it. Haruka and I stand in front of her, waiting for the intro to finish. Then, we started singing. Even with all that has happened, I still remember the song well. Haruka did too, which was surprising since she doesn't train much because of her condition.

"Well, I did expect Kisaragi-san to do well. Amami-san, you're tempo is a bit slower. Try to keep up"

"Yes ma'am" Haruka answered her.

"And go drink some water. We don't have much time so we need to train your stamina first before continuing towards the dance practice. So after a drink, do some jogging on the Athletic Hall on fifth floor. I texted Otonashi-san, she'll be waiting for you"

"EEEHH!?"

"Don't EEEHHH, me. This is for your own good. Don't want to embarrass yourself in front of everybody. Especially your fans"

"Uuuu~, understood..." Haruka said in a painful voice.

"Now, Honda-san!"

"Eeep"

"Let's go, remember your mistakes?"

"Yes ma'am"

Fufufu, seeing them like this, reminds me of the days when me and my friends are new idols. It was hard, but it was worth it. They're lucky it's not Ritsuko-san who's training them now.

"Kisaragi-san" Rin called me.

"Rin? What is it?"

"I'm really sorry for what Mio did" Rin said while she bow her head in front of me, apologizing.

"Oh no, it's ok. Rather, Uzuki, are you ok? I heard about last night from Mio"

"Ah, you did. It's really embarrassing. I'm the eldest yet I fainted in front of her. I'm ashamed of myself" Uzuki answered while she covers her face with her hands.

"Fufu, well, count yourself lucky you didn't enter the building" I said to her to comfort her.

"Yeah, I know. I heard from Mio-chan and Mami-chan" Uzuki replied.

"I'm sorry you didn't find much. Must've been a waste of time huh?" Rin asked me.

"I don't know, maybe we missed something. For now, I want to focus on tomorrow's concert"

"As expected of Kisaragi-san. Of course, let's do our best" Rin replied to me.

"By the way, what's taking Mami-chan so long?" Uzuki asked.

"How long was she gone?" I asked them.

"She went to the toilet at the start of our training session" Rin answered

That's a long time for a trip to the toilet.

"I'll go check on her" I volunteered myself. And as I walk to the door...

"Wait! Chihaya-san, I'll go with you!" Mio shouted as she ran towards meme

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Trainer-san quickly grabs Mio and drags her back.

I feel sorry for Mio. But all this training is going to help her a lot in the near future. I know the training is a lot more harsh compared to her time in New Generations, but you know what they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Now, I need to find Mami. I hope she's in the toilet. I really don't want her to do 'that'. As I make my way towards the toilet, I caught a glimpse of Mami with Anastasia in the corridor. I went towards them and I can see Anastasia looks depressed.

"There you are! Mami, everyone is waiting for you!"

"Ah! Chihaya-san, sorry about that. It's just that, Anya-chan's cellphone went missing"

"Cellphone? Did you try calling it?"

"Yes, we did. But unfortunately we failed. It would seem my phone's battery has ran out" Anastasia answered

"Where did you last saw it?"

"I remember I had it when I entered the Theater. And when we're about to start training, I went to my purse to turn off my phone. That's when I noticed it was missing"

"I checked the purse, there are no holes on them so it couldn't have been dropped. We already looked all over floor 1 and 2, but we didn't find it" Mami explained to me.

"I see. Mami, why don't you go back to room 207 first and tell Trainer-san what happened. You don't want to keep her waiting right?"

"Ugh, no I don't. She's not as harsh as Ritsuko-san, but she's still scary" Ami said in fear.

"Well, you better go then. I'll help Anastasia in your place"

"All right, thanks. I better run"

Mami quickly ran and heads toward room 207. Now, about Anastasia's phone.

"This will be difficult. You already covered all grounds. I can't think of any other place to look for. But just in case, could you tell me everything you did from after you entered the theater until you just met me now?" I asked Anastasia.

"Everything?"

"Yes, every little detail"

"Allright, but I have to tell you that I'm not really good at storytelling, so please tell me if you need more information on certain events"

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind"

Anastasia started telling me the story of her missing cellphone. At first, it seems like it's just an ordinary case of a missing item. But, as I hear her story, the case becomes more and more mysterious.

* * *

Allright, now we're getting somewhere. How does the story look so far? Did I made some grammar errors? Was the story hard to understand? As always, feel free to leave a review. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my stories. Special thanks to a certain user who gave me reviews on the previous chapters.


	4. Chapter 3

Hi, KNAM here. On this chapter, I will introduce a system that Chihaya will use to solve cases that she's going to pursue over the course of the story. Inspired by a game with a certain spiky haired attorney and another game with a certain black and white colored bear.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Idolmaster

* * *

The Idolmaster: Zone of Despair

Chapter 3

CASE 001, the Phone and the Camera: Part 1

It's around 5 PM now. I was supposed to be training with my team for the upcoming concert. It all started when Mami asked to go to the toilet and hasn't returned for a long time. I decided to go look for her. And as I walked towards the toilet, I saw Mami with Anastasia in the corridor. I asked them what were they doing, and they said they were looking for Anastasia's cellphone. I asked Mami to go tell Trainer-san why she was gone for a long time, and I asked Anastasia to tell me everything about the time she lost her cellphone.

"Ok, I'm going to tell you everything I remembered after I entered the theater. That was the last time I saw my cellphone. Please listen carefully and feel free to jump in if you need more information" Anastasia said to me with a serious look on her face.

"Understood"

This feels a lot like a video game, where she's going to give her testimony and I have to find something useful in them or give her proof of inconsistencies between her story and what I think really happened.

Hmm, first I need to confirm her ETE, her Estimated Time of Event. In this case, the time where she last saw her cellphone.

"Anastasia, before you start, did you know when the time you entered the Theater was?"

"Of course, it's around 3 PM. There's a big digital clock tower on the front lobby, and it rang three times. So I don't have to look to know the time was 3 PM"

"I see. Did you came alone?"

"No, I was with Minami. We always went to the theater together"

Hmm, so she went to the theater at around 3 PM with Minami. So, Minami might know something about the phone. But before I hear her story, I need to know one thing first.

"This cellphone, what does it look like?"

"It's a flip phone. Its color is sky blue with white lines along the edges. There's a small LCD screen on the top side of the phone, the LCD is inside a titanium frame. If you opened it, the keypads are made out of titanium as well and the screen is the important part. Its frame is made out of Platinum"

PLATINUM!? SERIOUSLY!?

"Platinum!? The most precious and rarest metal here on earth!? That platinum!?"

"Yes. I know it's too much, but my father insisted on it. He said it's for good luck charm...and an emergency fund should I need it"

Wow, now I'm beginning to think that someone actually stole her phone...

No, I can't doubt my own friends. There's no way they would steal it.

"Ah, by the way. The platinum part, only Minami and I knows about it. And now you also know about this secret"

"Wait, you never told anyone else?"

"No, Minami said to keep this a secret. But, I trust you Chihaya-san, so I'll put my faith on you to keep this a secret"

"Thank you, I'll definitely keep this a secret. Allright, I got the basic things I need to know. Now, about your side of the story"

"Of course"

Allright, Anastasia is about to tell her side of the story. That means I have to think that I'm Anastasia. My view point is her view point. I need to know every little detail in order to find her cell phone. I can see this phone means a lot to her, and I did gave my words to Mami that I will help her. So I need to focus and do my best. Here we go.

-Anastasia Side-

Allright, when I first entered the Theater, I noticed there's a lot of our fellow idols who are talking to eachother in the lobby.

"Uwaa, it's really crowded here. I guess everyone is preparing for tomorrow's concert. They all look really busy"

"We can't lose to them Anya-chan, let's also give our best on today's training" Minami said to me cheerfully

"Yes, of course. I'm ready to give it my all" I said to her cheerfully while raising my fist to the air.

*DING DING DING*

"He? It's only 3 PM? I knew it, we arrived too early. Training doesn't start until 4PM. What should we do?" Minami asked me.

"Hmm, I don't know. Should we just go to room 207?"

"No, I don't think we can. Someone else is probably using it now"

*RING RING*

My phone, it started ringing. I opened my phone to check who it is. The name Mami Futami appeared on the screen. I pressed a button on my phone and answered her.

"Hello?"

"Anastasia-san, are you in the theater now?"

"Yes, why?"

"Could you come to the Audio room on the 4th floor?"

"Sure"

"Thanks, I'll be waiting"

I ended the call and told Minami what Mami told me.

"The Audio room? I wonder what she wants" Minami asked me.

"I don't know, but we don't have anything to do, so let's go see her"

"Sure, let's go. Hopefully the elevator isn't full. Or else we'll be forced to climb the stairs"

"Yes, I hope so too"

We quickly ran towards the elevator, which is located on the center of the floor. When we reached there, our fear was realized in a different way.

"No! Out of service!?" Minami shouted

"Sigh, I guess we should climb the stairs" I said to her.

"Can't be helped then. I feel sorry for anyone who needs to go to the upper floor" Minami said to me.

I feel sorry for them too. This theater has 10 floors, so climbing the stairs to get to the top floor will be a real challenge. We went to the stairway, and started climbing. 2nd floor, 3rd floor, finally 4th floor.

-Chihaya-

"WAIT!"

"What is it?"

"When you were climbing the stairs, did you notice anything strange?"

"Hmm, no, I don't think so. No one was around so it's really peaceful"

No one was around? That's weird, the elevator was out of service, normally you would take the stairs and the stairs should've been packed full...

Wait a minute, something's not right. Anastasia said the elevator was out of service, but Haruka and I have just used it.

"Anastasia, what made you think the elevator was out of service?"

"There's a sign that says out of service. Why?"

"Haruka and I have just used the elevator. And it's working fine"

"Eh? That can't be. Unless it's fixed after you arrived here. You were late, right?"

"Please don't remind me"

So, either the elevator was fixed or maybe someone is trying to pull a prank and tricks everyone to climb the stairs, there's a lot of young idols who loves to play pranks…..

No, that can't be. If it was a prank, then everyone should've used the stairs. Could it be a coincidence that no one was using the stairs at the time?

"Ok, so you got out of the stairway and then?"

-Anastasia Side-

Ok, so we got out and looked around for a vending machine. We located one and bought two lemonades. We drank it and went towards the Audio room. We kept moving towards the end of the corridor since the Audio room is located at the end of the corridor. It was really peaceful, I haven't seen anyone. I only heard phones ringing, people talking, and typing sounds coming from inside the rooms along the corridor. Well no wonder, this floor is also called the meeting floor. The president and all the executives, producers, staffs hold meetings on this floor. Our fellow idols usually have a meeting with their producers here as well. We continued walking towards the Audio room. The door was opened and we went inside.

The Audio room is twice as large as the training room. The door is located on the center. When I entered, I can see lines of computers and chairs on the left and right side. 5 lines on each side. On the center of the room, there's a projector hanging on the ceiling. Up front, there's a wide LCD screen and 2 speakers, one on each side. At the front of the LCD, there's a table and an ergonomic office chair. And of course, there's also a computer on the table. I see Mami standing in front of the screen. I called out to her, and she turned around.

"Ah, you're here" Mami said to me.

"Hi, sorry we're late. We had to take the stairs to get here" Minami said.

"It's ok, I wasn't waiting that long" Mami said.

"So why did you called us?" I asked her.

"I was calling for Anastasia, but since Minami is here maybe you could help me out as well" Mami said to us.

"What is it?" Minami asked.

"You see, Producer-san wants us to make a recording of today's training session. He said that I should use the cameras here in the audio room. So I need help in bringing this camera to the training room" Mami explained to us.

"Cameras? Which one? I don't see any" Minami asked.

"Umm, turn around" Mami said.

What the!? The cameras are lined up near the door. They look just like the ones they used to shoot a live show, only it's simpler since the stand that holds the camera can be folded. How could I missed that!?

"I can't believe we didn't see that. Let's see, there are two cameras. Do we need to carry all of them?" Minami asked her.

"Yes" Mami answered.

"Ok, we better start then" I said to them.

"Right" Both of them said.

So, Mami and I carried the cameras while Minami folds the stand and carries both of it. We exited the room, closed the door and head towards the training room.

-Chihaya-

"WAIT!"

"What is it?" Anastasia asked.

"When you entered the room, you didn't notice the camera, right?"

"Yes"

"Was the room poorly lit?"

"Yes, only one out of 5 lights are on. I guess that's why we missed it"

"And when you left the room, the light was still on?"

"Ah! Yes, we forgot to turn it off"

"Hmm, let's shut it off later" I said to her.

Ok, the room was poorly lit because only one light was on. And, they forgot to turn it off. So the light should still be on. But, I need to confirm one thing.

"Who was holding the key?" I asked Anastasia.

"Ah! I forgot to return it, here"

Anastasia grabbed a card from her purse and gave it to me. The key is actually a keycard. It's a plain white keycard with a blue stripe in the middle. For some reason, there's a letter M in the middle of the stripe. I wonder what it means.

"Could you give it back to Mami later?" Anastasia asked me.

"Sure, but why was it in your hand on the first place"

"Mami asked me to lock the door, so I did, but I forgot to give it back to her"

"I see. Right, before you continue, did you see anything out of the ordinary on your way out?" I asked her.

"No. Well, I did saw Koume exiting a room. I was going to greet her but she was with her Producer. I don't know if that's relevant"

"Every little detail helps. Now, what's next?"

-Anastasia side-

So we carried the cameras and head towards the stairway, again. As we walked through the corridor, I sensed someone was following us. I turned around, but no one was there.

"What is it?" Minami asked

"I feel like we're being watched"

"Yeah, I see what you mean" Mami said to me while looking at the security cameras placed all around the floor.

"I wonder why they need this many" I asked her

"Who knows? Anyway, floor 2 right?" Minami asked Mami.

"Yup" Mami replied.

So we went to the second floor and put the cameras on room 207 and room 208. And that's it.

-Chihaya-

"So after you put the cameras down, you waited in the room until training starts?" I asked Anastasia.

"Yes. Well, we went downstairs for a while. Mami insist in buying us a drink after what we did for her"

"Hmm, and then all three of you went back to the room?"

"Actually, Mami went back before us"

"Time?"

"I couldn't tell, sorry"

Ok, that was Anastasia's side of the story. There are some places I need to check first. Let's start with the Audio Room. But first…

"You mentioned you sense someone was following you" I asked her.

"Yes, and I kept feeling it even when I was searching for my phone with Mami"

"Did you feel it know?" I asked her and god I hope not.

"No. You see, after I tried contacting my phone, the feeling that I was being followed dissapeared"

What? That's weird. I wonder, if someone did follow Anastasia, why would they suddenly gave up just because Anastasia was calling her phone. Unless the one who's following her has her phone.

"Wait! I just remembered I saw something weird in room 208" Anastasia suddenly said to me.

"What is it?"

"When we all gathered in room 207 for training, there was one camera there. But, when we went to room 208 after Trainer-san asked us to, there are no cameras there"

What!? That can't be. Wait, now that I think about it, I don't see any camera on room 207 either. What is going on here!?

"Anastasia, are you sure no one was moving the camera away when you were not in the room?"

"It's possible. But, if it was, Mami would've notice since she's the one who got there first"

"Hmm, let's see. Why don't we go to the Audio room first? Mami and the others should still be in training so we can ask them later" I said to Anastasia.

"Ok, let's go. And I'm sorry for troubling you Kisaragi-san"

"It's ok. I'm getting curious about this"

So we both went to the elevator and went to the 4th floor. When we arrived, the place has changed completely.

"Whoa! This place is packed!" I said to myself.

There's a lot of idols and producers running around here and there, talking to one another, and bringing files here and there.

"I thought you said this place was empty" I asked Anastasia.

"I did, and it was empty. I guess a 2 hour margin makes a big difference"

"Anyway, let's go to the Audio room"

"Right"

So we walked on, crashing into others as we go through the corridor, and finally reached the Audio room.

"Ok, let's open it up"

I grabbed the key that Anastasia gave to me and opened the door.

*BEEP CREAK*

"Huh? It's dark here. That's strange"

That's weird, at least one light should be on. Why are there no lights on? This place was locked so no one else should be able to turn it on. Unless.

*CLICK*

I flip the switch and turned all the lights on. And they all lit up.

"Huh, I thought it was turned off because the circuit was cut off. But, apparently not. All the lights are on now"

"So, who and how did they turned it off? I was sure I closed the door" Anastasia asked me.

"I don't know. But, why don't we take a look around? "I asked Anastasia.

Anastasia agreed and we looked around the room for clues. From the looks of it, the place looks clean. There's nothing out of the ordinary here. There's a locker on the left side and on the right side. But all of them are locked, so we can't see what's inside them. And since they're locked, I don't think her phone is inside one of them. I checked the desks, and nothing seems out of the ordinary, until…

"This desk. Look, only this desk had its keyboard moved. If you look at the other desks, you can see the keyboard is directly in front of the monitor. While this one is placed beside the monitor" I said to Anastasia.

"You're right. But, I don't remember…" Anastasia suddenly stopped.

"What is it?"

"AH! Right, my phone! I just remembered I placed my phone here before I moved the camera"

"What!? Why?" I asked her.

"Umm, I can't remember, but it has something to do with taking pictures. Uuugh, what is wrong with me today. I kept forgetting things"

Anastasia looks really confused. She said she was taking pictures? What kind of things would she be interested in here that made her took some pictures?

"Do you remember what it is?"

"Sorry, I don't"

Hmm, there's nothing out of the ordinary here to take pictures of. Wait, now that I think about it…

"Anastasia, about the lockers, you never mentioned them in your story"

"Yes, I never saw them before. It was my first time coming inside the new Audio Room, so I might miss something when describing the room. The locker is colored black and it was dark back then so didn't see them"

"I see. I guess it's hard to notice a black object in the dark. By the way, this is the first time I'm here as well. It looks gorgeous"

I'm not exaggerating. Now that I see the Audio room for the first time, it really is gorgeous. The computers look high-tech, the tables are made out of Dalbergia woods, the tables are accompanied by a blue colored leather armchair and the floor is covered by a red carpet. And I noticed there's a chandelier hanging on the ceiling. But it's turned off, I think the light bulbs haven't been placed yet. We were in awe inside this room. Suddenly...

"HEY! YOU TWO, GET OUT OF THERE!"

Someone was shouting at us, we turned around and saw Mika Jougasaki.

"Mika? What is it? Are we not allowed here?" I asked her.

"Of course not! This room is not open for public yet. It was supposed to be a surprise gift after tomorrow's concert. How did you get inside anyway?" Mika asked.

"With this key"

I showed her the key we used to open the locked door. She takes a look at it, carefully examining the key card.

"This key, looks familiar. Where did you get it?" Mika asked us.

"Mami gave it to me" Anastasia answered.

"Mami? How did she get it?" Mika asked

Before we answered, Mika started speaking again.

"Wait wait, that doesn't matter now. Look, we have to get out of here before someone sees us"

We agreed with Mika. We turned off the lights, fixed the position of the keyboard, and closed the door. When we closed it, a beeping sound was heard. I checked the door and it was locked. I remembered that every room in this building that uses a keycard to open them will automatically locks itself when the door is closed.

"Ok, so what were you doing there?" Mika asked.

We decided to explain the situation to her.

"Hmm, Anastasia, when you closed the door did you hear any beeping sounds?" Mika asked.

"Umm, no, I don't think so. Why?" Anastasia asked her.

"…fufufu, I think I know what happened to your phone. But, if I'm right, you won't like it" Mika said to us.

"Wait, you already figured it out?" I asked her.

"Yep, and if I'm right, the culprit should be in the electronics room"

Electronics room, that's in the third floor. Mika leads the way and we followed her to the electronics room. We knocked the door and went inside.

"Koume-chan~" Mika calls someone.

"EEP!" A young girl suddenly screamed and ran towards the corner of the room.

"AH! My phone!" Anastasia shouted as she saw her phone in the table near us, dismantled into parts.

"So this is your phone?" A man called out to her. He's one of the tech support of 346 Pro.

"Yes, what happened?" Anastasia asked.

"Allow me to explain" Mika said to us

"First, you went to the Audio Room to do some stuff and left your phone there. Then Koume, who I know has an appointment with her producer on that floor, happens to find the door to the Audio Room opened and went inside. You said you never heard a beep when you closed the door right?" Mika asked.

"Yes, why...AH! That means the door was still opened" Anastasia said.

"Yes, I think the reason why she went there because she also knows that the room is still off-limits. She must've gotten curious and decided this might be her only chance to enter and find out what's inside. There, she found the phone. There must be something in the phone that made her believe that the phone is yours, so she decided to follow you. She wants to give back the phone to you but, she's really shy around strangers so she doesn't have enough courage to approach you and decided to follow you from afar" Mika explained.

"Wait, why would she be shy around me? I'm sure we're pretty close since we live in the same dorm" Anastasia said to Mika.

"Mami was with you the whole time right?" Mika asked.

"Ah, right. She never met Mami in person before" I said to them.

"Right. Now, you said you stopped sensing someone following you after you tried contacting your phone. That's probably because the phone rang and that must've startled her, dropping the phone to the ground. And as I suspected, the phone was broken. The first thing she did is to go to someone who might be able to fix the phone, which is the tech support. Her producer is good friends with him" Mika said.

"And she was really shy on asking for my help. Thankfully it's nothing serious. I just need to put this back together and the phone should be working perfectly" The tech support said.

"And there you go. Am I right Koume-chan?" Mika asked Koume.

"Um" Koume nodded.

"Thank you so much everyone. And thanks Koume for looking after my phone" Anastasia said to her while extending her hand to Koume who is still cowering in the corner of the room. I think this is my fault, she hasn't met me in person before as well.

"…You're welcome…"Koume said while holding Anastasia's hand.

Well, thank goodness this is over. There's still some time to get back to practice. We need to return to the room ASAP…..

Wait, something's not right…

"Hold on a sec. Koume, can I ask you a question?" I asked her.

"…Um" She nods her hed.

"This might be a dumb question but, when you were in the second floor did you by any chance moved the cameras inside room 207 and 208?"

"…No, I didn't. The spirits did…"

Ooh, the spirits…..

…Right…

…..he?

"HEEEEE!?" We all screamed at her.

"Wha-wha-wha-what do you mean by spirits?" Mika said while trembling.

"When I was near the room, I see the camera moved. I looked inside, and then the camera moved through the walls"

"EEEEEHHHH!?" We all screamed at her, again.

This case, I thought it was over, but it's not. Not by a long shot.

* * *

The case is not over guys, so look forward to the climax of the first case Chihaya takes on. As always, your reviews means a lot to me, so if you have time please leave a review. Did you like the story? Was the story weird? Was something out of place? Feel free express your thoughts on the review. Thanks.


	5. Chapter 4

Hi all, KNAM here. We're getting close to the finish line of the first case. So read on and hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Idolmaster

* * *

The Idolmaster: Zone of Despair

Chapter 4

CASE 001: The Phone and The Camera part 2

Here's the story so far. We managed to find Anastasia's phone, which was in the hands of Koume. At first, we thought the case was over in a flash and we can immediately get back to training, but unfortunately we still have one problem. The cameras that Mami, Anastasia, and Minami supposedly brought to room 207 and 208 are gone. And the culprit who took the cameras are doubtful.

"Ok, let me get this straight. You saw the cameras moved on its own?" Mika asked Koume.

"...No, it was the spirits" Koume said.

We all went silent. If you're someone who doesn't know Koume very well, you might think she's joking. But, she's usually right about these kind of stuff, which is really frightening. To us that is.

"There has to be a logical explanation for this..." Mika said.

"Or not..." Koume interrupted.

"Maybe someone temporarily moved them..." Mika said.

"Or not..." Koume interrupted, again.

"If we check the room now, maybe the cameras will be there" Mika said.

"Or.."

"ALLRIGHT, I GET IT!" Mika shouted at Koume.

"Eep!" Koume was startled and fled to Anastasia's side.

"I agree with Mika. Let's all go back to the room and maybe we'll find something" I said to them.

"Ok. Koume, would you like to come?" Anastasia asked.

"…Yes" Koume nodded.

"Let's get going then, and thank you for your help sir" Anastasia said and bowed her head to the Tech Support.

"Oh, it's no problem at all Anastasia-san. Good luck with your concert tomorrow"

With that, we waved our hands to him and went outside. There's a lot of questions in my head, but first we have to find out where the cameras are. If not, Anastasia, Minami and Mami will be in so much trouble. We decided to go back to room 207.

*CLICK*

"Ah, Kisaragi-san. Where have you been? The others are already gone..." Trainer-san said to me.

"What!? I thought the training hasn't ended yet!"

"Well no, it's not. They went upstairs to the fifth floor. You all should go there quickly. Apparently they want all idols in this theater to meet up there"

"They?" Mika asked Trainer-san.

"All of us?" Anastasia asked Trainer-san as well.

"The Executives and yes, all of you. I don't know what, but it seems important. You weren't here so it makes sense that you didn't hear the call" Trainer-san said.

"Shouldn't they just announce it on the speaker?" I asked.

"Yes, I know. I asked them why but they won't answer"

That's weird, why go through all the trouble of checking all the rooms to call us when they can just use the speaker.

"By the way, Trainer-san, have you seen a big camera here?" Mika asked.

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I did see one before. When I entered this room, I saw a camera sitting near the piano. Then I walked out to grab a coffee, when I got back, it's gone. Probably moved elsewhere" Trainer-san explained.

"...I see..." Mika said while looking at Koume.

"...I tol..."

"NO! There's no spirits involved here! Let me think first..." Mika said, interrupting Koume before she finished her sentences.

"Umm, I don't know what's going on but you really have to go to the fifth floor now" Trainer-san said to us.

While Mika was still thinking, we all agreed to go to the fifth floor. When we went outside, Mika was still inside thinking hard. We all dragged her outside and closed the door.

"I can't let it end like this! You!" Mika pointed at me.

"Me?"

"Check room 208 for the cameras with Anastasia and Minami. You had training session there right? So your ID card should still be able to open it" Mika said.

She's right, because of that announcement, officially our training session hasn't ended. So we can still go inside the room with our ID card. Most rooms in this building are locked and can only be opened with an ID card. Which room we can open depends on the system admin. For instance, today we have training on room 207 and 208, the admin will give us access to the rooms and revokes anyone else's access from the room. This ensures that no one will be able to interrupt a training session. Some ID cards have more access than others, such as Mika's ID card that allows her to enter the Tech Center. And for the note, anyone inside a room can open the door from the inside without the need of using an ID card.

With Anastasia's ID card, we opened room 208 and went inside.

"I hope you figure this out. Meanwhile, Koume and I will be heading to the fifth floor. We'll tell you what the big announcement is as soon as we can" Mika said.

"Understood, we'll do our best here" I said to her.

Mika grabbed Koume's hand and rushed to the fifth floor. Poor Koume, I guess Mika is trying hard to not let Koume convince us that this is the work of spirits. Meanwhile, we're stuck here trying to figure out where the cameras are. The room is dark, so we turned on the light. This room is not that much different compared to room 207. The only difference is that there's no Piano here.

"Ok, first, where did you put the camera?" I asked them.

"Right here" Minami pointed at an empty space in the corner of the room near the mirrors.

I checked the point, and there are 3 dents on the floor, indicating that there was a camera stand here. I looked around, and I see drag marks leading from this point to the walls on the opposite side of the mirrors. Oddly, the trail ends exactly on the wall. I can only think of one stupid but logical conclusion.

"Hey, is it possible that there's a secret room here?" I asked them.

"No way...is what I wanted to say, but our president can be a bit tricky to understand. You know the 346 logo located on the center of the park, right?" Minami asked me.

"Yes, why?"

"Rumor has it, there's a secret passage beneath the sculpture leading to god knows where. And was proven by Mio after she found it a couple of weeks ago." Minami said.

"So...You're saying there might be a secret room here?" I asked.

"Yes, possibly" Anastasia said.

Ok, this is getting weirder and weirder. A secret room? Really? Koume said the camera passed through the wall, so the only logical explanation is that there is indeed a secret room. But, there's no way to prove this.

...Unless...

"Hey, I'm going to check something. Wait here, ok?" I said to them.

"Sure" Anastasia replied.

I went out of the room, and checked the length of the wall separating room 208 from its neighbors, room 210 and 206. And, I found it. Prove that there is indeed a secret room. The length of the walls separating room 208 and 206 is wider than the walls separating room 208 and 210. Although the gap isn't too wide.

I entered the room again and explained my theory to Anastasia and Minami.

"So, you're saying we have to search the entire room for a switch of some sort. Is that it?" Minami asked.

"Yes, I'll search the walls there. Minami, please search the lockers, you should be able to open them with your ID card. Anastasia, please check the mirrors"

"Yes ma'am" Both of them said in unison.

We begin searching this room for anything that might open the secret room.

*CLICK SLAM CLICK SLAM CLICK SLAM*

"Hmm, nothing out of the ordinary so far in here. Most of the lockers are empty" I heard Minami said to herself.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"I don't know what I'm looking for here. The mirrors are attached to the walls, so I don't think they can be moved" Anastasia said.

"Hmm, let me check. Anastasia, could you check the walls for me? I already checked halfway, and there's no switch of some sort" I said to her.

"So, you want me to check the other half?" She asked and I nodded.

"Ok then"

Anastasia goes to the wall and I checked the mirrors. And she's right, this mirrors won't budge a bit. I wonder how they will be able to replace the mirrors if they were broken. As we continued searching, there's still no signs of a switch to open the secret room, until...

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

"Huh? What's that sound?" I asked them.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

"It's coming from my pocket" Anastasia said.

Anastasia checked her pocket, and searched for the source of the beeping. And the source is a surprise to all of us. There, Anastasia held out the Key Card of the Audio Room. The blue stripe covering the card is glowing and is emitting a beeping sound.

"That's weird, it wasn't beeping wildly before" Anastasia said.

"Not just that, since when does a keycard glows and emits beeping sound" I said to her.

"Hey, this might sound crazy, but what if this keycard is the key needed to find the secret room" Minami said.

"Well we don't have any leads, so let's give it a try" Anastasia said.

She held up the key and walked around the room. When she went near the door, the beeping sound emits slower and eventually stopped beeping. She then came close to the wall again, and the beeping sound emits faster and faster. She came to the center, and the beeping emits even faster. Until she reaches the locker.

*BEEEEEEP*

"This must be it" Anastasia said.

"I haven't checked that one yet, so be my guest" Minami said.

Anastasia used her ID card to open the locker, but she failed. The word ACCESS DENIED were printed on the locker's handle.

"I can't open it, how about you guys try it out" Anastasia said.

I used my ID card to open the locker, but it was denied. Minami tried as well, but was also denied.

"This locker is getting more and more suspicious" I said to them.

"Yeah, we can open the other lockers. But why can't we open this one?" Minami asked.

"Anastasia, it's a long shot but try the Audio Room's keycard" I said to her.

Anastasia placed the keycard on the locker's scanner.

*BEEP CLICK*

"It worked!?" Anastasia said in shock.

"I thought this was the Audio Room's keycard. It shouldn't have access to open anything other than the Audio Room" Minami said.

"My thought's exactly, what if this isn't what we think it was?" I said to them.

"Anyway, let's look at what we have here" Anastasia said.

We checked inside the locker. There's a big red button in the middle and the numbers 4757 written on the back of the locker in white color. We stared at the button silently.

"...Umm, should we push it?" Anastasia asked.

"...I don't know. I've watched a lot of TV shows and most red buttons yield nothing but trouble" Minami said.

"But we won't get anywhere just standing here. And there's nothing else to check on" I said.

"...Ok, on the count of three, let's push this button together" Anastasia said.

"...Allright, let's do this" I replied.

...1

...2

...3!

...Meanwhile, on the fifth floor, Mika has just arrived on the meeting place, the Gymnasium. The door was heavily guarded by security officers. Mika approached them.

"Jougasaki-san!? What are you doing outside!?" One of the officers asked me.

"Sorry, I just found out about the meeting. There was no announcement that we have to meet up here, and none of my friends contacted me. Really now, I'm going to have a little chat with them" I said to him.

"That's because all of their phones are confiscated! Tell me, was there anyone else who haven't been notified!?"The other officer said to me in a high tone.

"Umm, yeah. Wait, you confiscated their phones?" I asked.

"Yes, and all of their belongings. Oh god, this is bad. For now, Jougasaki-san, please surrender all your personal belongings and put them in this bag here" The officer said to me while who tries to call someone.

"You too miss" The other officer said to Koume.

"Wait, wait! What's going on here!? Start explaining yourself!" I asked them.

"Please, do not worry, we're just going to check all your personal belongings for a certain item. As for what the item is, you can find out more when you are inside" The officer said to me.

"We don't want to force you, so please do as we say. President's order" The other officer said.

Ugh, what is going on here!? Why would they confiscate all the personal belongings of all of us!? Sigh, I don't want to get into trouble at the day before the concert, so might as well do what they said. I handed over my purse to them, I see Koume handing her small hand bag as well.

"And your pockets" The officer said.

Really? Even the contents of my pockets?

"You want my clothes as well~?"

"Tha-that won't be necessary" The officer said nervously.

I handed over my phone, ID card and wallet to them.

"Thank you, now let me scan you first and then you may enter the gymnasium" The officer said.

They scanned us and finally let us in. Security is really tight, something big must have happened.

*BEEP CREEAK*

Koume and I entered the gymnasium, and it was chaos. Most of 346 idols are here, shouting and screaming, asking questions. I see a lot of security officers around the room. This room is extremely large, there's a track field here for athletic meets and training, 2 tennis field and a dressing room. I see the president is standing on the podium at the center of the track field. I looked around more and I see Kaede-san and Miku-chan. I grabbed Koume's hand and went to them, don't want to lose this little girl in all this crowd.

"Kaede-san!" I shouted at her while waving my arm.

"Mika? Are you allright? What did they asked you?" Kaede asked me.

"Actually, we just got here. What's going on anyway?" I asked.

"The president is conducting a large scale search for a missing item. We've all been here for around 2 hour. They really put everything they have for this investigation" Kaede said.

"Sigh, and we were about to be released, but the door was closed again-nya. And how did you managed to be late?" Miku said.

"We were searching for Anatasia's cellphone. Long story short, her cellphone was with tech support and we waited for them to fix her cell phone" I said.

"The security must've missed you when they searched this building for us" Kaede said.

"What were they searching anyway?" I asked.

"A keycard. The master keycard-nya" Miku said.

Master keycard? So that's why. The master keycard can open any rooms on any building 346 pro owns. I heard there are only two master cards in existence. Now one is missing.

"My apologies everyone, but it seems like there are other idols that are still unaccounted for and in need of further questioning. Please be patient, this won't take long. I promise you" The president said to us, and most of the idols screamed EEEHHH to him, typical.

"Jougasaki-san, could you tell me where and who are the idols that are still outside?" An officer asked me.

"Chihaya, Anastasia, and Minami. They're in room 208"

"Understood" He grabbed his walkie talkie and calls the other officers outside the gymnasium.

"Now, I need to ask you a few question, is that okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, not like I have a choice" I said to him.

"Ok, first, where were you at 3 PM this afternoon?"

"Meeting room, room 405. You can ask my Producer to verify this"

"I see. Next, have you seen this keycard around?" The officer asked me while showing me a picture of the master keycard. It looked familiar, the blue stripe especially. Where have I...

"AAAH! Now I remember! The keycard Anastasia had, it was the master keycard!"

"WHAAAT!?" Everyone who heard me screamed.

"Where is she!?" The officer asked.

"Room 208. I know what you're thinking, but Anastasia didn't steal it" I said to him.

"That's for the president to decide, MR. PRESIDENT!" The officer shouted at him.

"What is..." The president was cut off by the noise the idols made.

"EVERYONE PLEASE BE QUIET!" The president shouts. Everyone went silent.

"Officer, what were you saying?"

"The keycard was found!"

"WHAT!? Where!?" The President was surprised.

"Room 208, with Anastasia-san!"

"WHAT!?" Both the President and Mami shouted.

Wait, Mami? Why did she?

"Futami-san! Do you know something about this!?" The president asked her.

"N-No, I was just surprised Anastasia is still in room 208. It was empty when I checked" Mami said.

"Officers, go to room 208 ASAP. Mishiro-san, go with the officers. Mami, I need to talk to you" The president said.

"..."

The president went down the podium and approached Mami. The president looked furious, but so does Mami. What are they discussing I wonder? They're too far from my position, so I can't hear them clearly. Room 208, what's so special about that room? I have a bad feeling about this. You guys, please be safe.

...Back at room 208...

*GRRRRRRRG*

We pushed the red button, and the wall near the locker opened, revealing a small room with a staircase leading downwards. And, we finally found it, the camera. At first we were silent, then...

"Huh, a hidden room. Who knew" Minami said.

"Just to be clear, this was the camera you brought right?" I asked them.

"Yes, this is it. One of the camera Minami and I brought" Anastasia said.

"Let's move it away from there" Minami said.

Minami and Anastasia entered the hidden room and carefully moved the camera inside.

"Fuh, one down, two to go" Anastasia said.

"Hey, maybe there's a hidden room in room 207 as well" Minami said.

"I don't think so, when I checked for proof of whether there is a secret room in room 208, I also checked the possibility at room 207. And the result is a negative. Besides, Trainer-san is there" I said to them.

"Yeah, I guess" Anastasia said while she examines the camera.

"Something wrong?" I asked her.

"Check this out" Anastasia crouched down and points at one of the camera's stand's leg.

"A string? This must be used to move the camera. Seems like it was cut after the camera finished moving" I said to her.

"Ummm, who's pulling it?" Minami said while looking at the empty hidden room.

She's right, who or what was pulling the camera towards the room? I don't see anything inside the room that can pull the camera. I decided to look inside. And, I found a trapdoor on the ceiling.

"Hey guys, give me a boost will you" I asked them while pointing at the trapdoor.

"Sure" They both said in unison.

Anastasia and Minami stretched their arms forward to eachother forming a seat for me to stand on. I climbed up and try to reach the trap door.

"Just a little bit higher guys" I said.

"Roger" Anastasia said.

I almost reached the trapdoor, but suddenly…

*SLAM*

"ANASTASIA!"

"KYAAA!"

*CRASH*

"Ouch, that hurts. Are you guys ok?" I said to them. That scream surprised us. Anastasia and Minami lost their focus and dropped me, and I crashed into them because of the fall.

"Ye-yeah, I think so" Minami replied.

"Mi-Mishiro-san?" Anastasia said.

"YOU THREE! THE KEYCARD! NOW!" Mishiro shouted at us.

"Keycard? Wait, we didn't do anything wrong. Why do you need our keycard!?" Minami replied instinctively since there's a rule where if we were considered to do something bad like breaking the rules, our ID card will be confiscated.

"NOT...huff…" Mishiro took a deep breath.

"Not your keycard, the master keycard. Give it to me!" Mishiro said.

"Master keycard? We don't have that" I said.

"Are you trying to lie? You opened the locker there proves you have the master keycard" Mishiro points to the locker we just opened.

"Locker? Wait, you mean this keycard" Anastasia said while holding up the Audio room's keycard.

"Yes! That's the one. Give it to me!" Mishiro said,

"Umm, ok" Anastasia handed over the keycard to Mishiro.

"Chihaya, close the room"

"How?"

"Push the red button again"

I did what Mishiro asked and the door closed itself. How did she know about this?

"Umm, Mishiro-san, what's going on?" I asked her.

"That doesn't matter now, why were you here? You were supposed to be at the gymnasium!" Mishiro asked.

We explained to her what we've been doing this whole time. She then tells us that this master keycard was stolen, and the Executives demanded the culprit who stole it.

"Anastasia, could you lend me your phone? Or, could you show me prove that Mami called you at 3PM?" Mishiro asked.

"Of course" Anastasia said as she searched her call log and showed Mishiro that Mami called her at 3.05PM.

"I see, that means you really didn't stole the keycard"

"Why is that?" Minami asked.

"The keycard went missing at around 2PM, and since you just got here at 3PM, there's no way you could've stolen the card. Chihaya arrived late as well so there's no way you stole it" Mishiro said.

"Yes, I was late! Sorry!" I said to them.

"Heh, just don't be late again. Now, you said Mami gave you this key?" Mishiro asked.

"Yes, but she said she got it from her Producer" Anastasia said.

"Impossible, no one has access to this card except me, the president, and officer Ituko"

"Are you saying Mami stole the key?" I asked her.

"Yes, I do. She's your friend, I know. But, she stole a very important item of this agency"

"Maybe she has her reasons, for instance, this secret room. What are they?"

"Look, let's discuss this with the president. He's waiting in the gymnasium. Now, follow me"

This doesn't look good. There's no way Mami would steal it. Why would she need to steal a master keycard?

"Whatever reason she has, this wasn't her lucky day" Mishiro said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"If Mika hadn't reach the gymnasium a while ago, the master keycard would've been considered missing permanently. And we have to shut it down, which is a pain since there's a failsafe that allows the keycard to be active for at least 24 hour" She said.

"Mika?" Minami asked.

"Yes, we were about to let everyone in the gymnasium leave. But then, Mika showed up revealing that there are still some Idols we haven't checked yet. We will never know where the keycard is if she hadn't appeared"

"I see" Anastasia said.

"..."

"Chihaya, what is it? We need to keep moving" Mishiro said.

"...It can't be..."

"Chihaya?" Minami tapped my shoulder.

"No way, she couldn't have..."

"Chihaya!" Mishiro shouted at me.

"Anastasia! Who was the one who put the camera in room 208!?" I asked her, please don't let it be Mami.

"It was Mami. And now that I think about it, I haven't told you this because I thought it was irellevant when we were searching for my phone. But, when we were having a drink in the cafe, Mami asked me for that keycard and went on ahead. She gave me the card when the training starts and told me to hang on to it for a while" Anastasia explained.

No...

NO!

All this, they all lead to one explanation. Is there anything else that we haven't uncovered, besides the other camera.

...wait...

There is!

"Well? Had enough?" Mishiro asked.

"Please, one more question" I asked her.

"Fine, just one more. Make it quick!" Mishiro agreed.

"Anastasia, the picture. Please, show it to us"

Anastasia was confused at first, but then she realized what I meant. The photo she took when she was in the Audio room. She grabbed her phone and searched the photo. Her looks were serious, then she looked shocked. She gave the phone to us.

"It's….blank?" I said.

There was nothing in the picture, just a white screen. What does this mean? There must be something hidden in this picture.

"Well, I think you're done now. Let's move" Mishiro said.

We're running out of time. All we have to do now is wait and see how this will turn out.

* * *

Finally, the end is near. Next chapter, a confrontation that leads to the true motive behind these case of missing items.

(Man, I'm really not good at opening and closing statement. Maybe I should start practicing some more...)


End file.
